Kashmir in its Crafts

The family of Shabir Ali Beigh are embroiderers, who are held in great respect by their society and beyond.

Generically, embroidery is referred to as sozni work but the variety of sozni practiced by the Beigh family and now others, is a craft so fine that the embroidery done with a needle looks akin to the fully patterned woven textile of Kani weaving.

The feasting hall of Shabir’s family home is large and welcoming. Their hospitality matches their pride in their work.

The modular khatamband wooden ceilings and fully carpeted floors are spaces to have feasts or even entertain customers who have to be shown a large array of shawls.

Whether embroidering or feasting, people line up against the wall, with pillows propped behind for comfort. In winters, shawls or quilts are brought to cover the knees.

This is a typical work environment where family members work in silent solidarity. Shabir’s father used to say he preferred having women working around him as they were not constantly talking on their mobile phones.

Deft and experienced hands work wonders with just needle and white silk thread on a black woollen-base fabric.

Many hours, months and even years are spent in completing a shawl. The leisurely pace and precision of their handwork ensures excellence.

The older the embroiderer, the finer the work. The elders are accorded great respect by the younger members of the family.

Women embroiderers, both within the family and trainees from the locality, are given equal respect and courtesy.


Family members work out of pleasure when their household chores are done. The kitchen is an equally convivial space, where everyone helps with part of the cooking and minding of children.

There are no signs of isolated spaces for women or signs of patriarchy in most Kashmiri families, particularly among craftsperson’s communities.

They work, laugh, create and learn together, the elders teaching the younger ones.

Family spaces are for intimate meals, feeding or playing with babies and having quiet conversations with close friends.

The common marketplace for shawls is another matter. Most embroidery is of the less expensive variety, simply to catch the eyes of less discerning tourists.

However, if a customer shows interest in high quality workmanship, special shawls come out from the inner shelves.

The colour palettes of European nobility in the 14th and 15th century, who were the early international clientele, influenced pastels and gentle monochromes, unlike the rest of India where vivid colours are preferred.

In the small back streams and waterways along the lakes in Srinagar, life goes on. The homes behind could be workshops for shawl production.

Life along the river involves many occupations being carried on simultaneously. Everyone greets the other and carries on working.

Along the quieter waterways behind Dal and Nagin lakes in Srinagar, you get the feel of how serenity and the softness of colours slowly seep into the consciousness of embroiderers.

The merging of many shades of green from the trees, to the water, to the shikara, and the gentle play of sunlight on the waters, are constant sources of inspiration for the colour palettes of dyers and embroiderers.

Many of the colours that an artist would use to paint a watercolour of this scene, can be found in the colour-ways of Shabir Ali Beigh’s family production of sozni shawls.

A shikara carries logs to a workshop along the river.

Flowers, shawls, handicraft items and even biscuits and sweets are transported and sold from these kind of shikaras along the lake.

A fruit seller can sell to customers in passing shikaras or to the tourists living in houseboats along the lake.

The slowly arriving night stays on in the conscious memory as a soft gold curtain coming down on a fading day.

This almost monochromatic colour palette is reflected in the more sophisticated shawls embroidered in Kashmir.

The lotus flower strongly influences both design and colour across many disciplines in Kashmiri craftsmanship.

Cherry, apple and almond blossoms, chinar leaves turning colour in the autumn, fields of saffron flowers in November, and daffodils in early spring give Kashmir’s embroiderers inspiration for many lifetimes.

Read more about the art of Kani Sozni here:
- Laying the Standards
- The Process